Former Employee Admits to Defrauding Employer of Over $3 Million

Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, and Toni Weirauch, as Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, New York Field Office, announced that Craig B. Matuszak, Jr., age 48, of Gansevoort, New York, pled guilty yesterday to one count of mail fraud and one count of filing a false income tax return, both felony offenses, before the Hon. Mae D’Agostino in the United States District Court in Albany, New York. Sentencing for Matuszak is scheduled for November 28, 2012. As a result of the conviction for mail fraud, Matuszak is facing a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years, a term of supervised release of up to three years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a special assessment of $100. He faces up to three years’ incarceration, a term of supervised release of up to one year, a fine of up to $250,000, and a special assessment of $100 for the tax count.

Matuszak admitted that he, together with an accomplice who was a vendor for Matuszak’S employer, Velocitel Inc. (a California-based company with an office in East Syracuse), and another accomplice who was a contractor for Velocitel, devised and executed a scheme to defraud Velocitel Inc. by billing them for services that the vendor and contractor never provided, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341 and 2. Matuszak acknowledged that the fraudulent billing documents that were submitted to Velocitel, caused Velocitel to remit payments to the vendor, that then came to Matuszak and the other accomplice. Matuszak further admitted that he did not declare the income he received from the fraudulent scheme on his income tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1).

As part of the plea, Matuszak agreed to pay restitution to Velocitel in an amount to be determined by the court and $439,019 to the Internal Revenue Service. Matuszak also agreed to the forfeiture of his home and two vehicles.

The investigation of Matuszak was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. This prosecution was handled in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara B. Thomson. Further information can be directed to the United States Attorney’s Office at (315) 448-0672.